Award winning team of Sean Michael Wilson and Akiko Shimojima have ventured into new territory in this, their ninth book together, on the explorer Mamiya Rinzo (間宮 林蔵) who mapped Sakhalin Island in the early years of the 19th century."Mamiya’s Maps" is about exploration, culture clash, the making of maps and how they are related to politics. It’s also anthropological in its look at the Ainu and Nivkh people of Sakhalin island. The animals and the landscape of the island and its sur...

Voici la première adaptation en bande dessinée sur l'histoire du célèbre ninja Nagata Saburo qui enseigne à son fils, Hisaaki, les armes, les tactiques secrètes et les valeurs du ninja. Ce livre expose avec élégance le récit sur les ninjas du le Japon féodal tiré du Shinobi Hiden, le plus célèbre rouleau de Hattori Hanzo (XVe et XVIe siècles). Fidèlement illustré par la japonaise Akiko Shimojima et scénarisé par Sean Michael Wilson qui a travaillé en étroite collaboration avec l'expert Ant...

Au 18e siècle, 47 samouraïs vengèrent la mort de leur maître grâce à un complot qu'ils fomentèrent dans le secret durant deux années. Après avoir réussi leur mission, ces 47 samouraïs dépourvus de maître se suicidèrent tous.Cette histoire véridique devenue une légende nationale au Japon, est imprégnée des idéaux profondément ancrés dans la culture japonaise : le sens de l'honneur, la persévérance, la loyauté, le sacrifice et le bushido (code des samouraïs).

Depuis deux cents ans, le Japon est fermé sur lui-même : personne n’entre et personne ne sort. Seul Nagasaki reste un port acceptant les quelques Chinois et Néerlandais autorisés à commercer sur place. Le 8 juillet 1853, quatre Kurofune, des “bateaux noirs”, crachant la fumée par leurs cheminées à charbon et le feu par leurs bouches à canon, accostent en baie d’Edo (Tokyo). Ils viennent délivrer un message du président des États-Unis d’Amérique au gouvernement du pays du Soleil Levant : un...

On the 14th of July, 1853, the USS Plymouth, Mississippi, Saratoga, and Susquehanna sailed into Yokosuka, Japan. The mysterious "Black Ships" had arrived.In this stirring account of a pivotal moment in modern Japanese history, award-winning author and illustrator team Sean Michael Wilson and Akiko Shimojima tell the story of the four American "Black Ships" that arrived in Japan in 1853 under the command of Commodore Perry to force Japan to open up to trade. The boo...

A gripping graphic novel describing the uprising of 1877, when the old style samurai were crushed in a bloody conflict with the imperial army that ended samurai power in JapanAward-winning comic book writer Sean Michael Wilson and acclaimed manga artist Akiko Shimojima team up to tell the riveting story that changed the face of modern Japan. Depicting thrilling scenes of battles, gunships, castle sieges, and the samurais' heroic last stand, this book portrays the b...

This graphic novel adaptation of the cult-classic text, Bushido, brings the timeless secrets of the samurai to life for modern-day readersFirst published in the early twentieth century, Bushido was the first book to introduce Westerners to the samurai ethos. Written by Inazo Nitobe, one of the foremost Japanese authors and educators of the time, it describes the characteristics and virtues that are associated with bushido—honor, courage, justice, ...

A graphic novel depiction of the most dramatic example of bushido—the samurai code—in Japanese historyIn the eighteenth century, forty-seven samurai avenged the death of their master in a plot that would take over two years to complete. After succeeding in their mission, the masterless samurai—known as ronin—all committed ritual suicide. The story, which is a national legend, remains the most potent example of Japan’s deeply rooted cultural imperative of h...

Bronze Medal Winner, 10th International Manga AwardsThis historically grounded manga follows the ninja Nagata Saburo as he teaches his son, Hisaaki, the weapons, secret tactics, and values of the ninja. Based on the real-life writings of the famous ninja Hattori Hanzo, Secrets of the Ninja combines a familiar coming-of-age story with a historically accurate background of political intrigue and Sengoku-period Japanese culture. As Hisaaki grows from...

Here is a graphic novel portrait of the wild antics and legendary poetry of two of China’s greatest poets. Han Shan (known as "Cold Mountain") and Shih Te lived during the Tang dynasty (618–906 C.E.) and were critics of authority (both secular and religious) and champions of social justice. They left their poetry on tree trunks and rocks, and they were also reportedly monastics, drunks, cave dwellers, immortals, and many other unconventional and wondrous things. There is much delightful un...

2022 Skipping Stones Honor Awards Recipient | 2021 NCTAsia Freeman Award Honorable MentionThe true story of how one Japanese village suffered and survived the mercury poisoning of its waters.A powerful graphic novel/manga that tells the story of "Minamata disease," a debilitating and sometimes fatal condition caused by the Chisso chemical factory's careless release of methylmercury into the waters of the coastal community of Minamata in sou...